Taxes

... What to do with the state’s $3 billion budget surplus ....

... the problem isn’t too little money, it’s too much ....

... The 2022 Legislative Briefings will be held via Zoom on the following Tuesdays from 7:30 am- 8:30 am ....

... the result of years of indulgence and bad habits ....

... This is not the only recommendation the Tax Review Commission came up with ....

... “Hawaiʻi is the ʻmost hostile health environment to practice in," physician says ....

... a chance to get in front of lawmakers and argue that we aren’t being taxed enough ....

... these are majority opinions in our state ....

... the Aloha State now has the highest tourist taxes in the nation, topping out at 17.75% ....

... calculations show there is plenty of room for the Legislature to break its habit of continually increasing taxes ....

... these debates are meaningless ....

... big fat property tax bills coming next ....

...Translation: The Legislature took the counties' share of the state TAT away but let them impose their own TAT.  I'm giving it to rail -- so, in effect, other city services have been cut to fund rail but -- like a shell game -- with so many moving parts, the public has been deceived....

... DoTax wants years of back GE Taxes ....

... Mayor Michael Victorino has signed Bill 118 -- the ʻAina Kūpuna bill -- that establishes a mechanism to provide long-time Maui families with tax relief for inherited real property in a Special Management Area ....

... projected revenues from the tax fall short of what the project needs to cover its budget shortfalls ....

... Once upon a time there were some property developers on Oahu ....

... In more recent years, the Hawaii Supreme Court has been giving the tax office even more help and protection ....

... ʻĀina kupuna bill to help long-time Maui families keep ancestral lands passes first council reading ....

... The poll of nearly 1,000 Hawaii residents also found significant agreement that private firms should be more involved in delivering public services ....

...A Tax Break for the Rich Could End up Being the Largest Part of the 'Build Back Better' Plan....

... lump-sum entry fees assessed on visitors only are legally problematic in the U.S. as they may be judged to impede travel between states and discriminate against non-residents in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal laws ....

... the Maui County Transient Accommodations Tax (MCTAT) goes into effect November 1, 2021 ....

... the federal funds made it unnecessary for our legislators to take all of the TAT funds. But they did it anyway ....

... the Index is designed to show how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement ....

... So now let’s pose a challenge ....

... Hawaii is still in a state of emergency, tourism has slowed, businesses are closing and unemployment is high. The economy will take years to recover ....

... Monthly fees for A+ programming will be increasing from $120 to $200 ....

... How to build affordable housing?  Impose a $1.169 billion tax on housing.  Clue: 'Boondoggle' ....

... A professional poll of almost 1,000 people throughout the islands suggests lawmakers are ignoring what their constituents really want ....

... The memo concludes that the State did not have the power under the Hawaii Constitution to provide for four extra HART board members.  Thus, we can basically ignore the extra folks and conduct business as if they weren’t around ....

“When combined with their share of the state debt, Honolulu taxpayers each owe $61,300.”

... “Growing the Good Life Begins Here” ....

... “Those people have at their disposal so many ways to flummox the tax authorities if they want to. Panamanian bearer shares corporations. Dutch sandwiches. Entities from the Isle of Man, the Caymans, or Bermuda perhaps.” ....

... Another sovereignty scammer busted ....

... I have seen legislature after legislature consider many, many bills to increase taxes ....

... If Congress’s new tax hikes come through, successful residents in high-tax states will be placed in a terrible position. ....

... How does some bureaucrat sitting in the real property tax office have any idea whether a property is vacant? ....

... an increase of up to 2000% ....

... HB 862 makes no provision whatsoever for joint collection. The counties are on their own ....

... Honolulu rail project get a portion of the revenues? ....

... “Yes,” Weinberg said. “You are going to mess up Hawaii’s finances.” ....

... One fundamental assumption that has been made over the years by our lawmakers is that if you enact a tax, money will be raised.  What if that weren’t true? ....

... government not only taxes people by taking their money, but also imposes administrative burdens that waste countless precious hours of people’s time ....

... Hawaii is more than happy to tax the golden goose of tourism. But when it comes to feeding, caring for and cleaning up after it, we can’t seem to get on the same page ....

... The Energy Innovation Act will put a price on so-called carbon pollution and allegedly allocate some of that revenue to Americans as a monthly dividend or “carbon cash back” payment to make you feel better about high fuel and electric costs ....

... allowing the military spouse to keep their home domicile for state income tax purposes ....

... The deadline to apply for the Real Property Tax Credit Program is September 30, 2021 ....

... State lawmakers and DLNR leaders believe the 2021 legislative session was the most productive and effective for natural and cultural resources protection and support of any in recent decades ....

... Does our government overreach?  Yes.  Why does it do that?  Because we let them ....